


your silhouette doesn't look quite right

by dreamclub



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Happy ending!!!, M/M, Pining, hyuck is kinda down on himself, not really angst, theyre both oblivious idiots, yukhei and jaemin are really good friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-10-01 03:37:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17236655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamclub/pseuds/dreamclub
Summary: Everyone seems to know about Mark's crush but Hyuck, who learns through his friends complaints about how he waxes poetic about him. When Hyuck realizes he has a crush on Mark, everyone else realizes Mark has a crush on Hyuck. As usual, Hyuck is the last to find things out.





	your silhouette doesn't look quite right

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by chittahyuck's great fic, they said they wanted someone to write a longer one so here it is! That was inspired by @1haechan on twitter so I hope they both like it, and you all do too.
> 
> Original prompt: “au where lucas complains to go haechan about mark never shutting up about donghyuck”
> 
> Title is from It's U by c*vetown, I'm censoring his name because if he ever for any reason sees this my kidneys will fail.
> 
> Anyway, this is a really silly idea and I had fun messing around with it :) Please leave feedback below, and if you have any requests please feel free to comment them or contact me here:

Donghyuck sprawled out across his bed, pouting after his last vicious defeat in Mario Kart. In a last-ditch effort to be petty, he spread his limbs as far as they could go, taking up as much room as possible to prevent Yukhei from moving from his perch at the end of his bed. Much to his chagrin, Yukhei didn’t care much about personal space and had no problem with draping himself over Hyuck, their limbs quickly tangling.

“You’re so heavy, you oaf,” Hyuck nudged an elbow and flailed a leg, aiming for any part of Yukhei’s weirdly large body he could get at. Somehow, he missed.

Yukhei just cooed in his ear, “Must be the weight of all my love for you.”

Hyuck was glad for the cover of his position, because he couldn’t help but flush at that. He’d never been very good at taking compliments, jokingly or otherwise. To busy himself, he checked his phone, flushing even more at the recent message from Mark. It contained a few too many emojis to be considered decent.

“Who’s texting you all of those emojis?” Yukhei asked, sticking his head over Hyuck’s shoulder to see the screen. Hyuck shoved him off and rolled over, Yukhei laying at his side, legs still overlapping Hyuck’s. His socks had tiny ducks on them.

“Mark.”

“I should’ve known,” Yukhei snorted, “He texts like my Grandmother.”

“Do you text often?” Hyuck asked, subtle very curious. He tried to feign nonchalance, but his acting skills didn’t extend that far.

Yukhei turned to look at him, big brown eyes going soft and the corners of his mouth twitching upwards, “Yeah, actually. And he’s been so annoying recently!”

“More than normal?”

Yukhei laughed again, always finding everything funny, “He’s got this huge crush on someone, and he won’t shut up about it.”

Hyuck got up and sat back on the edge of the bed, suddenly ready for another match. Yukhei followed suit, sitting criss-cross and grabbing his ‘lucky controller’, which had a frog sticker on the side and a crack on one of the buttons from a particularly rowdy match of Smash.

“He’s got these beautiful eyes, right, like honey. And his hair is so soft, like flower petals and rain, whatever that means.” Yukhei waxes poetic, choosing the settings for the match. Hyuck didn’t even notice that he chose Rainbow Road, too focused on his words. “When he laughs, an Angel gets it’s wings, and when he cries a baby dies.”

He tried not to let himself feel too let down. He knew Mark was unattainable for him anyway, so far out of his league they weren’t even playing the same sport. Still, it hurt to think about it. Mark gushing over someone else.

“Sounds great,” Hyuck murmured, engine stalling right at the beginning.

Yukhei, nothing if not clever in the most unexpected of ways, picked up on his distraction right at the start. Exploiting his friend’s harmless crush for a Mario Kart win wasn’t too awful, right? Hyuck knew what he was doing, but allowed himself to fall in to the trap anyway, listening intently for more.

Gripping the controller tightly, Yukhei continued, “He’s so bright and warm, just like the sun. With these long, long legs apparently. But they’re not proportionate to his body. Like a giraffe, or some shit.”

“Giraffes have long necks-- shit!” Donghyuck was hit with a red shell. Yukhei took the lead.

“And he’s so funny, always has a joke ready. At first Mark found it annoying, but now he thinks it’s really endearing. He keeps a folder of screenshots of mean texts from him on his phone. How romantic.” Yukhei hit a banana peel at the end, voice getting progressively louder as he raced.

Hyuck tried to zone out, but he was hanging on to each word and his game suffered for it. He leaned in to every turn, throwing himself into the movements and knocking shoulders with Yukhei, who retaliated a little too enthusiastically and bumped him off of the bed.

Hyuck played from his spot half on the floor and half on the bed, torso twisted awkwardly and knee bearing most of his weight. Focusing hard on not laughing so intensely he couldn’t see, Yukhei was bent over in silent sobs, having trouble focusing on the match.

When he passed through a mystery cube, he got a Bullet Bill, taking that opportunity to respond, “I bet his jokes aren’t as good as mine.”

“Everyone’s jokes are better than yours,” Yukhei prodded at him with a socked foot. “Anyway, he obviously thinks the world of this guy. I don’t think he’s legally allowed to find you funnier than him.”

“WhaAAAAAA,” Hyuck’s response trailed off into panicked screaming as he careened off of the road, allowing Yukhei to finish in first.

He didn’t know what was more worrying, Yukhei thinking anyone could be funnier than him or the fact that he was more concerned with Mark than his glaring loss.

“What’s his name?” he asked cautiously, “So I know what to call him.”

“He just calls him H, for some reason?”

“What a lame name.” Hyuck stuck his nose in the air and started the game.

The second match begun, and Hyuck sat in silence, yelling over Yukhei every time he opened his mouth. Halfway through, Yukhei’s phone started to ring, his boyfriend’s soft voice flowing from the speakers as his ringtone. Jungwoo’s soft _ring ring ring, beep_ almost killed Hyuck of a heart attack.

Yukhei said something that made his phone activate, and Mark’s panicked voice filtered through the speakers:

“So I text him, and he didn’t text back, but he has read receipts on and I can see that he saw it! Maybe I came on too strong? I’ll send you screenshots so you can tell me. At this point I shouldn’t be so worried, right?” Mark babbled, making concerningly loud tapping noises as he typed.

Yukhei was still focused on the game, “Hi to you too, Mark.”

“Just read the messages, okay? You know how crazy he makes me. What if he laughed at me? Is it weird that I’m kind of fine with that, as long as it means he laughed that laugh? You know the one.”

Every word was another punch to Hyuck’s face. Or at least a prodding finger in his gut. Hearing Mark talk that way over someone that wasn’t him, get so flustered and worried… It hurt. Even though he really, totally didn’t have a crush on him.

“I don’t know the one, because I’ve never heard him laugh.”

Mark stopped typing, drawing in a sharp breath on the other end of the line, “I thought I’ve showed you it already. Remember, that video of us on the pier? I’ll play it now, everyone deserves to hear it at least once. Plus, maybe it’ll calm me down.”

Mark started to play a video, the sound of the ocean rushing in. The beginning of a laugh started, clear and ringing like a bell. Hyuck didn’t hear it, not really. He just needed to get out. He took the boy to their pier. Their special spot.

All of the memories they had there, from coming up with ridiculous names for the stuffed animals they won each other to water fights on the shore, seemed insignificant. Mark had probably collected shells with him, too, held his hands so tight on rides that his knuckles turned white. Was mystery boy willing to lose circulation for Mark?

“I don’t want to play anymore.” he threw down his controller. He knew he was being childish, but he couldn’t help it. Not any more than Mark could control his adorable nervous babbling, or Yukhei could control his compulsive need to laugh every five seconds. 

Yukhei, still caught up in the energy from the game, looked down at him and said, “Too scared I’ll beat you, Hyuck?”

Mark, who had gone completely silent during their exchange, swore quietly and then hung up. Hyuck still didn’t feel like playing.

-

“Mark’s back on his bullshit,” Yukhei complained out of nowhere, sitting with Hyuck and Jaemin outside of his house. 

It was sunny outside, bright and sticky-hot, but Hyuck couldn’t find any joy in the weather. Warm, just like Mark’s Mystery Boy, who Hyuck managed to hate despite never meeting him. His mere existence felt like a personal attack. Like everything he’d never manage to be was packaged neatly in one person that happened to be Mark’s exact type.

Jaemin looked at him strangely, but proceeded with caution anyway, “You mean about the boy?”

“Why do you talk about Mark’s boy so much, anyway? Do you have a crush on him?” Hyuck tried to tease, but the joke fell flat.

“Better tell Jungwoo,” Jaemin joined in, always the savior. His attempt at teasing didn’t feel so awkward anymore, even when Yukhei didn’t full-out laugh, just smiled goofily. 

Behind them, the sliding glass door shut gently. Judging by the way Yukhei’s eyes crinkled, it was Jungwoo. Soft footsteps pattered over the wooden deck. 

“Tell me what?” Jungwoo rounded the corner. He sat and tucked himself into his boyfriend’s side, making no noise as he curled up on the wicker furniture.

“I’m in love with Mark’s crush,” Yukhei smiled up at him, squinting against the sun even from his shelter under the porch roof.

Jungwoo sighed, “The way he talks about him, I wouldn’t be surprised. Does that mean you finally saw him?”

Hyuck busied himself with pouring another glass of lemonade for himself, and systematically refilling the two other glasses that were running low. Grabbing another cup, he tried to tune out the conversation, instead getting Jungwoo a drink. 

“No, but Mark has described him a lot more. He has these moles that look like the stars, and Mark totally wants to connect the dots, if you know what I mean.” Hyuck looked up to see Yukhei wiggling his eyebrows down at Jungwoo, who just laughed quietly and pecked him on the cheek.

Hyuck took a sip of his drink before replying, “Again, why do you care so much?”

Again, he felt himself getting jealous over someone he didn’t even know. Moles were his thing! Plus, Mark didn’t trust him enough to talk to him about his crush, but it seemed like everyone else in the circle had heard his rambling. 

“He doesn’t even let us sit together anymore,” Jungwoo whined, holding Yukhei close to his body, twining their legs together even in the oppressive heat.

Jaemin, who had been suspiciously quiet, looked up from his phone and said, “Well, duh. He’s lovesick and you’re in love. He probably feels left out!”

Hyuck held himself back with every ounce of self-control he had from saying he could fix that. It’s true. He could. Everything he’d learned about Mark he’d carefully filed away for later use, from the way he liked his tea to his favorite laundry detergent. He could probably mother the boy, if he needed to. And he knew he could love him so, so well.

“Anyways, I just text him, and he said he’ll send me a picture of H’s ‘perfect, incredible, unmatched’ hands, whatever that means.” Jaemin held his phone up, screen dark, like proof of the conversation.

Behind him, the sky was light blue like Mark’s favorite sweater. The tray in front of them was piled with watermelon, his favorite fruit. Yukhei’s mother’s garden was full of bright, bright flowers, the kind Mark would pick and hand to Hyuck if they walked past them. Everything lead back to him.

Jaemin’s phone beeped. Hyuck tried to look uninterested. Yukhei, however, scrambled over Jungwoo’s lap to get a glimpse of the phone and the mystery boy. Whatever he saw was obviously shocking, judging by the way his lips puckered into a surprised ‘o’ and his eyes widened almost comically large. Jaemin looked similarly shocked.

Were his hands really that nice?

“Pass it over, then,” Hyuck said, voice too tense, “I wanna see his miracle hands.”  
“Ah, actually my phone just died. Sorry Hyuck.” Jaemin put the phone in his pocket for good measure, sympathetic and completely lying. But what reason would he have to lie?

Hyuck closed his eyes and tried to let the heat knock him out.

-

“Mark said he’s really good at hitting high notes,” Jungwoo said, head on Yukhei’s lap and legs on Hyuck’s, not paying too much attention to the singing reality show on the television.

Why did everyone insist on always talking about him? He was all that Hyuck thought about, anyway, and now even with his friends he would be forced into hearing his name. Which snowballed into thinking about his smile, his dimples, the spark in his eyes when he did absolutely anything… And then Hyuck started thinking about his own inadequacy. 

“Mark can’t even sing,” Hyuck said, a certain amount of annoyance in his voice. Hopefully Jungwoo would drop it.

Jungwoo kicked his feet a little. “Not Mark. His mystery boy.”

“Oh,” Hyuck swallowed hard and became very, very interested on the show currently playing.

-  
_  
markiemoo: Want to do something today?_

_hyuckie: can’t_

_markiemoo: Why not :( :( :(_

_hyuckie: why don’t u ask yukhei to hang out_

_or jaemin_

_maybe even jungwoo_

_markiemoo: What?_

_Is something wrong?_

__  
-

Renjun sat cross-legged at his desk, colored pencil moving furiously over the paper. Jaemin, his subject, kept pulling silly faces to make him laugh, though more often than not it ended up with discarded drafts being thrown at him. Hyuck was grateful for the distraction, and the lack of talking about Mark. Who was still on his mind. Like always.

How pathetic. 

“Tilt your head a little,” Renjun instructed, “Hyuck, open the curtains.”

As he moved to comply (because Renjun got scary when he was in the zone, and he really didn’t want to have to deal with that) Jaemin’s phone buzzed again. Most people their age kept their phones on silent to assuage the barrage of social media notifications and group-chat messages, but Jaemin hated missing things and not replying to texts, so he kept it on.

“It’s Mark again,” he announced to nobody in particular.

Hyuck accidentally ripped the curtains all the way open, knocking a cup of pencils to the ground while he was at it. Renjun made a noise of discontent and he scrambled to close the curtains and pick up the pencils at the same time, stretching until his limbs popped.

When he was done, he popped his head up, just barely seeing Jaemin’s head over the desk. “Well, uh, what did he say?”

“He said H is acting weird, but he’s still cute,” Jaemin said. Hyuck started to reply, but Jaemin continued, “He’s worried he did something wrong, and he’s feeling kind of down, so he wants to plan a group hang out.”

Renjun pointed a very sharp pencil at Jaemin, “That’s cute and all, but stop moving your mouth.”

Jaemin, of course, responded by making kissy faces and mouthing words, which started a full on wrestling match. Somewhere in the middle of the mess, a text was sent to their groupchat from Mark Lee himself, prompting a meet-up.

-  
_  
markiemoo: Hey everyone! Can we meet Saturday at my house for a movie and some food? My Mom said she’d pay for half our order and whatever we rent :)_

_yucky: sounds good to me, as long as woo is there!_

_woo woo: give me a ride and im there_

_yucky: ill give you a ride alright ;)_

_jaems: THE BABY IS HERE_

_chonloe: im not a baby dumbass_

_jaems: i was talking about mark :(  
_

-

“Say, hypothetically, my friend has a crush on someone that likes someone else, and that friend is really sad about it, because someone doesn’t trust him enough to tell him about someone else, and also he likes someone else?” Hyuck rattled off, looking at Yukhei expectantly.

For his part, Yukhei just looked stunned, like Hyuck had started speaking in another language. “What?”

“My, um, friend likes someone. And I- he can’t stop thinking about it,” Hyuck tried to not trip over his words, but he’d never spoken about Mark like this before, and Yukhei was clever enough to see right through his facade, so he needed to be extra careful. Which of course prompted his tongue to become lead. “What should he, my friend, do?”

“Tell him that he likes him,” Yukhei smiled like it was the easiest thing in the world.

But Donghyuck had just admitted it to himself, really fully admitted it, not just thought about Mark’s hand in his and his lips on his and his name in his phone next to a bunch of heart emojis, because Mark loved those, in the comfort of his own bed at night. This was in the daylight. 

He really, really liked Mark. And Mark really, really liked someone else.

-

“Mark just saw a new picture of him and is now crying,” Yukhei announced to the room, “I’m going to try to get him to send me the picture.”

“Great.” Hyuck rolled over onto his stomach and shoved his face into the pillow. Jaemin came over to him and sprawled out across his back, pressing his face into his neck and digging his fingers into his sides, effectively starting a tickle fight.

Yukhei laughed, loud, “He sent a picture of him crying, but not the boy.”

For a moment, the fight paused while Hyuck stuck his head out to look at the picture. With renewed vigour, he started again. Who told Mark Lee he could be so damn cute?

-

 

“Hi, Hyuck,” Mark greeted him with a nervous smile, narrowing in on him.

“Hi, Mark!” Yukhei exclaimed cheerfully from Hyuck’s side, bounding over to him to sprawl across his lap and hug him. Despite the group he’d come in with, Mark had singled in on him. And with the other boy on his lap, he was still staring at him, tinged kind of pink.

That’s when everything started to make sense. Mark knew he liked him. Didn’t want to hurt his feelings by telling him about his crush. Didn’t want to act awkward around him, and because of that seemed awkward. Always so considerate yet oblivious. It was one of the things Hyuck liked most about him.

Pulling him from his thoughts, Jaemin patted the seat next to him, and Hyuck took the chance to flop down. He didn’t even realize he’d ignored Mark until it was too late. In an effort to make amends, because he really didn’t want to fight with him, he offered to let Mark pick the movie they’d watch. 

In a plain black shirt and skinny jeans, Mark looked so cute it was nearly unfair. They’d all seen the movie, Moana, a million times, but he still laughed at some of the funnier parts, his nose wrinkling and eyes lighting up. Yukhei was whispering commentary in his ear, making him laugh harder, sometimes out loud.

By the time they were halfway through, the group had broken up into side conversations, talking loudly over the movie. When the doorbell rang, Hyuck was the only one to hear it, only listening in on others conversations.

“Someone get that,” he ordered, pointing towards the doorway.

“Nose goes!” Chenle yelled, smacking himself so hard in the face he yelped audibly. Yukhei followed suit in the same manner, and everyone else followed soon after with less painful results. Hyuck was dead last. He was too busy focusing on how cutely Mark had only placed one delicate finger on his nose, going cross-eyed to look at it.

Hyuck stood and stretched, walking around to quickly collect the money, “You’re all demons, and I hate you, and I’ll probably need help to carry this food!”

The doorbell rang again, and he ran to get it, the laughter of his demonic friends following him. He paid and put the food on the table next to the door, hot cardboard boxes and plastic containers piling up quickly. He was right, if it was just him it would take multiple trips to safely get all of the food to the living room.

Last time he’d spilled food in Mark’s house he’d felt so bad at his disappointed face that he’d cried for an hour. He could’ve cleaned the floor with his own tears.

So he walked back to the living room with only a few cartons of rice in hand. Through all of the noise, he heard Jaemin’s voice, curious and sly, “So, how’s mystery boy?”

“Why do you still call him that? We all know who it is!” Yukhei complained, followed by the sound of what was probably a couch cushion being thrown. 

“Okay, sorry, how’s H-”

He was cut off by a loud screech. The room was completely quiet, as if listening for Hyuck’s questioning footsteps. When none came, a smacking sound and a yelp came from the room.

Briefly, the boys descended into chaos once again, though it quickly quieted at the Mark’s reply, “Things are still weird but, you know, he’s perfect. Being so near him is making me so stupid.”

“Stupider than normal?” Chenle laughed.

“That sounds like something he would say,” Mark replied teasingly, not offended at all. “Though it isn’t as cute coming from you.”

Hyuck felt bad about eavesdropping on a conversation he obviously wasn’t meant to hear, so he decided to walk noisily into the room. All talking ceased when he walked in, leading to an awkward and tense entry.

“I need some help to carry the food,” he said bitterly, putting the food down on the coffee table roughly. “I’m not your maid, you know.”

“You’d look cute in the outfit, though,” Jaemin winked at him. He just rolled his eyes, instead of his usual banter back and forth. Suddenly he felt very, very tired.

Yukhei started to stand to help, looking concerned, but Mark sprung up first. “I’ll help, come on.”

Hyuck followed him helplessly, making eye contact with Yukhei who seemed to know something was wrong. When he got in the entryway Mark was frantically piling boxes, flushed like he’d just run a marathon and was asked to go again.

“Hey,” he said when Hyuck walked in, fumbling over his mountain of containers. Hyuck plopped a bag of cutlery on top of the pile. Mark’s panicked eyes were wide over the top, mouth blocked by plastic.

“Hi,” Hyuck replied, grabbing his own stack, aiming to not have to make another trip. And to get away from Mark. He needed time to process what he’d just heard.

Mark started to say something, but Hyuck all but ran back in to the living room and dumped the food down before collecting his phone, strategically planning his exit. Jaemin pulled him down into his vacated spot.

Leaning over, Jaemin murmured into his ear, “What’s wrong?”

Before Hyuck could answer, Mark walked back into the room, looking like a kicked puppy. Carefully, he placed the food on the coffee table, and then began the short walk over to the couch Hyuck was sitting on. Without hesitation he sat down heavily, slim body fitting in the small gap between Jaemin and Hyuck.

Even through their jeans, Hyuck could feel the warmth of Mark’s leg against his, the slight tremor from the way his other leg was bouncing. Usually, he was all about personal space. Kept a safe distance from Hyuck. Now, he was leaning in to his side, trying to lean his head on his shoulder. It felt a lot like an apology, even though he didn’t know what he’d done.

He wanted to cry.

Mark leaned in for the food and grabbed a container of rice and a plate before turning to Donghyuck and asking, “What do you want?”

“I’m thirsty,” Hyuck choked out, jumping out of his seat and watching as Mark visibly fell down, no longer held up between their bodies. The shy, semi-confident look on his face had gone. It was replaced with an odd kind of sadness that Hyuck couldn’t quite place.

Hurrying away from that face, he made the familiar trip to the kitchen. Filling his special mug, the one Mark kept just for him, with iced tea was hard the way he was shaking. He hated how much he was affected by the entire situation, but he didn’t like not knowing when everyone else did. And Mark trying to make his plate made it worse. Every single gesture made him fall further into his crush.

For the millionth time, he wished he was anyone else but him. Wished he was the beautiful singing angel Mark had a crush on. Then he headed back into the living room. 

He was halfway through the door when Mark ran into him with enough force to spill the iced tea down his front, soaking through his thin shirt and leaving a long, snaking path of brown on the fabric. Impulsively, Mark wiped a bead of liquid from Hyuck’s arm, prompting him to spring back.

“What the fuck!”

Mark blinked like he was going to cry. “I’m sorry, here, come upstairs and I’ll get you a shirt, I didn’t mean to hit you, we can wash your shirt. Come on.”

Hyuck followed, because Mark seemed really panicked and he was really tired. Just wanted the day to be over. Sad, sweaty, and in a sticky shirt was not how he wanted this to go. The entire room followed them with wide eyes before starting loud and forced conversation, pretending their eyes weren’t following the pair as they climbed the steps.

 

When they made it upstairs, it felt like a different world. The chatter from downstairs drifted up the stairwell, muted and distant. Mark breathing next to him was much more immediate. He held his hands under his shirt in a poor effort to keep the juice from dripping on the floor.

“Can you, uh, take that off?” Mark asked, blushing furiously and gesturing to the bathroom. 

Hyuck nodded, neck stiff, and shut the door behind him. Mark paused for a second before walking away, steps heavy on the carpet. Only when his bedroom door opened did Hyuck peel off his wet shirt, throwing the sopping garment in the sink and turning the water on. Jaemin would probably know how to get the stain out.

While waiting for Mark, Hyuck opened the bathroom closet and pulled out a washcloth, wetting it in the sink and cleaning the stickiness from his chest. Rivulets of water fell down his chest and wet his pants in dots, the denim absorbing the moisture and leaving only a slight spot behind.

Then the door opened.

Mark stared at him with wide eyes, gaze flickering between his face and his bare chest. Hyuck felt so, so exposed. Any second he would burst into tears. Which was more embarrassing, his toplessness or his wrecked emotional state?

He didn’t stick around to find out. With more haste than he’d ever done anything, he grabbed the shirt Mark was holding and pushed past him. Their shoulders brushed, Hyuck’s bare skin against Mark’s shirt. Stuttering, Mark rushed after him. He didn’t stop. His arm burned where they touched. 

Shrugging on the t-shirt while he bounded down the stairs, he cursed the day he was born. Before Mark could come back down, he rushed to grab his phone and slip on his shoes.

“You’re going?” Yukhei asked, always the first to pick up on his discomfort. Bless his heart. Even though his babbling about Mark’s crush had started the avalanche of emotion in the first place, he tried so hard to be there for Hyuck, and he really appreciated it.

“Without eating?” Jaemin echoed, looking concerned.

Hyuck started backing out of the room as soon as Mark came in. On screen, a song started. “It’s fine, I owe you all a million in food anyway. Just eat my share.”

He managed to smile and look normal until he left the house, slamming the wooden door behind him. Outside it was beginning to cool down, swift breeze shaking the branches of the tree outside of Mark’s house and ruffling Hyuck’s hair. He was overheating.

Everything was too overwhelming.

-  
_  
markiemoo: Is everything okay? I really hope I didn’t upset you. I can buy a new shirt if you want._

No emojis. It was strange, being this alienated from his best friend, but he started it by not talking about his crush. Not that he owed Hyuck anything, but that was the kind of stuff that you’re supposed to tell your closest friends about. 

_donghyuck: im fine. sorry for being so weird lately. im going thru it_

_markiemoo: Meet me at the pier tonight, please?_

_I need to give you back your shirt._

_And I think we really need to talk :)_  
  
The smiley face sent him over the edge. Overflowing with anxiety, he text Yukhei and made plans to meet up before he went out with Mark. It was time to stop running.  
_  
donghyuck: 7 sound good?_

 _markiemoo: Perfect! I’m excited to see you, Hyuckie :)_  
  
-

“My life is over.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Yukhei asked, cautious and gentle. Like Hyuck was a wild animal.

Hyuck rummaged more frantically through his closet, knocking clothes from their hangers. “No. Just distract me.”

“Hmm, well Mark is really excited about something, but he won’t tell me what yet. I think it has something to do with the boy.”

Of course it did. It always did. That’s probably what Mark wanted to talk about. How he had confessed to the boy, maybe even at their secret spot at the pier, and everything had gone well. How he was awkward because he had a thing with this guy, but he somehow knew about Hyuck’s feelings before Hyuck knew about them so he didn’t want to make him upset.

He burst into tears. 

Yukhei tried to comfort him, which lead to him shoving himself into his closet, quiet cries muffled by the dense layer of clothing. Ridiculous? Yes. Overdramatic? Check. Unwarranted? Not in the slightest. A shirt fell from it’s hanger and smacked Hyuck on the head.

“You like him a lot, don’t you?” Yukhei asked, grabbing the shirt from over Hyuck’s head and staring into his eyes.

Hyuck just nodded, pathetically. He used the sleeve of a blue sweater to wipe his tears. Come to think of it, that sweater was probably Mark’s. That prompted him to cry harder.

Yukhei grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him out of the closet, then whirled him around to sit on the bed. “I’m going to pick out your clothes, and Jungwoo is going to come over to do your makeup, and Jaemin will come for moral support. Okay?”

Hyuck nodded again.

“Stop worrying. Things will turn out better than you think. We love you Hyuck.”

Yukhei text them and then headed into Hyuck’s closet, still holding the fallen shirt in his hand. It was a t-shirt, Mark’s favorite aqua blue with a pink and purple pixelated sunset on the front. Yukhei pulled out a pink and white striped long-sleeve turtleneck, the fabric thin enough to be breathable but keep him warm on the chilly pier. It would look good layered, and turtlenecks always brought out the curve of his jaw.

“You’re a genius,” Hyuck sniffled, reaching out for the shirts. 

Yukhei handed them over and walked to Hyuck’s dresser, looking for the jean drawer, “You’re just now catching on?”

 

Eventually, Hyuck was fully dressed, ripped light-wash jeans with a chain that matched his layered necklaces and converse in the same purple as the details on his shirt completing his outfit. Jungwoo had done his eyeshadow and foundation, making his eyes smoky and shimmery. Jaemin had made him laugh more than once, an impressive feat considering his state.

He wondered if Mark would like the way his eyeshadow looked under the pier lights. The glow of the neon signs in his eyes. Maybe if he wore makeup all the time, he could be pretty enough for Mark. 

Jaemin’s phone rang, pulling him out of his reverie. He answered, putting it on speaker.

“Jaem, I’m so nervous I’m spitting blood. Maybe I should cancel. Can you go instead?” Mark’s voice filled the room, tinny and worried over the speakers.

For a second, Hyuck thought maybe he was talking about their plans, but he quickly dismissed the thought. It probably had something to do with what Yukhei was saying before, about his excitement over the boy. Nerves always overtook him before important things. Usually he would be texting or calling Hyuck about it, bouncing and shaking and rambling.

Things weren’t the same, Hyuck guessed.

“Hi, Mark,” Yukhei yelled, sounding oddly nervous. There was a hint of warning in his voice. He’d obviously cut Mark off from rambling further, adding to Hyuck’s fears about the boy. He was so considerate, not wanting to make Hyuck sad over his own feelings.

Mark replied, sounding surprised, “Hey, Yukhei. Is it just you and Jaem?”

“No, Jungwoo and, uh, Donghyuck are here too.”

“Shit, oh, hi Hyuck. Bye, then,” Mark hung up abruptly.

Hyuck tried not to dwell on the call, instead letting his friends distract him with compliments that made him flush red from head to toe.

-

Mark was waiting on a bench outside of Scoopy’s for Hyuck, staring down at his phone and scrolling furiously. His leg shook so hard the bench moved with him. Under the fading summer sunset and pastel glow of the ice cream sign, he looked almost angelic.

Hyuck walked up as silently as possible, avoiding all of the creakier wooden boards in the boardwalk with practiced ease. They’d met up there so many times he could tell you exactly how many steps it was from the ramp up to the door of the parlor. In fact, he could walk the entire boardwalk blind and get anywhere he needed to go.

“Mark,” he shouted when he got right up to Mark’s face, startling the boy out of his trance. The tiny yelp he’d let out was nothing short of adorable, and it made Hyuck fear the rest of their night together. How could he hold it together?

“Hi, Hyuckie,” he said, voice shaking. Hyuck wanted to chalk it up to the adrenaline from the jumpscare, but the shyness on his face made it seem worse. Deeper. Like he was going to bring up something Hyuck really, really didn’t want to talk about.

So Hyuck walked up to the parlor door and looked over his shoulder expectantly. “You coming?”

Mark smiled and followed obediently, the familiar bell ringing as they walked in to the cool air. Checkered tiles and a pink counter greeted them, a smiling Chenle standing behind the counter. His family owned half of the boardwalk, but still made him work when staff was short. Something about ‘responsibility’ and ‘hard work’. Hyuck didn’t mind, because it meant they got discounts.

They ordered, joking around with Chenle while he prepared the orders. When he asked for their money, Hyuck bumped Mark with his hip and said, “Mark’s treat.”

Unlike usual, he didn’t even pretend to protest, pulling out his wallet and paying straight away. Instead of eating inside like normal, maybe even bantering with Chenle more, he grabbed both of their ice creams and started out of the door. They both shouted their goodbyes, Hyuck trailing after Mark and back into the muggy heat.

Then he looked at Mark. Really looked at him. He had on a red sweater, deep and dark under the night sky. Sunset had vanished while they were inside, leaving the glow from the rides and whatever persistent stars that still shone through the light. Below that were black jeans, ripped in the right places, and converse that matched his outfit.

“Hey, our shoes match,” Mark pointed out when he caught Hyuck staring.

“Who wore it better?” Hyuck struck a pose, kicking his shoe out ridiculously.

Mark laughed, that full-body laugh that shook him from head to toe and bent him at the waist. Hyuck grabbed his ice cream to keep it from falling from the cone. “You, obviously.”

Hyuck hoped the dim light hid his flushed cheeks. Something about the way Mark was staring at him told him it didn’t. 

Fortunately, Mark saved him from replying, “Let’s go down to the beach.”

Ice cream dripped down Hyuck’s wrist as he followed, carefully walking down the wooden steps and onto the firm sand below. It’d been packed tight by people walking on it, but the sand quickly got looser. Hyuck toed off his shoes and socks carefully, hiding them underneath the steps. Mark followed suit, unbalanced with his ice cream in his hand. Leaning on Hyuck, he managed to get them off.

They’d done it a thousand times before, but this felt different. Everything had felt different lately. Hyuck hated himself for it, and vowed to stop thinking so much.

“Catch me if you can!” he shouted, running away with his ice cream teetering precariously in front of him.

Mark caught up to him easily, entire ice cream cone shoved in his mouth. Hyuck laughed so hard they had to stop running. It had been a long time since he’d laughed that hard with Mark. With anyone, actually. Yukhei and Jaemin and all of his friends were hilarious (he wouldn’t be friends with them if they weren’t) but there was a laugh that only Mark could pull out of him. He missed it so much.

“What’s my reward?” Mark asked after he swallowed, swaying dangerously close to Hyuck.

Hyuck looked at him wide-eyed and then bent down before he could realize what was happening, picking up a handful of sand and throwing at him. “Right there!”

Mark kicked up sand at him, prompting a short lived fight before an easy truce was called.

Eventually they wound up sitting on the damp sand, moisture seeping in through their pants but not bothering them in the slightest. Sand could always be washed out. Mark traced circles on the ground with meticulous focus, and Hyuck messed them up with the same passion.

“We need to talk,” Mark said, out of the blue. Hyuck wanted to run into the ocean, or back to the pier. But he didn’t.

Instead, he looked at Mark, the profile of his face under the blue glow of the moon. The slight ice-cream fudge still on the corner of his mouth, the sand in his hair from Hyuck, the curve of his jaw and the way his lip was pulled in when he bit it. “Yeah. Okay. I’ll start.”

Mark looked over at him, surprised, but Hyuck didn’t give him time to say anything. “Why did you tell everyone about your crush but me?”

“What?” Mark questioned, voice shrill and eyes very, very wide. He looked like _he_ wanted to run into the sea. It felt kind of nice to see the tables turned, even though Hyuck’s heart was beating faster than the swell of waves against the shore.

“You heard me. Your crush. Mister perfect singer, always so funny, prettiest boy alive.”

“How do you know about that?”

“It’s all anyone talks about! Mark’s crush this, Mark’s crush that, and I’m oblivious because my own best friend never tells me anything!” At that point, Hyuck was fuming, letting himself get riled up like he hadn’t for the past few weeks. He stood up, pacing in the loose sand. “They all know who H is. Everyone but me.”

Mark sprung to his feet, looking angry too. It was hard to take him seriously with the chocolate on his lip.

“Maybe I didn’t want you to know! It wasn’t their right to tell you, or your right to listen!” Mark marched up to him, getting in his face. The ocean reflected in his eyes. The chocolate was still on his face.

Like his rational mind had abandoned him, Hyuck reached out a hand and wiped away the chocolate with his thumb, Mark’s face burning up under his touch. While wiping it off, his finger traced the edge of Mark’s lip. He shut his eyes and breathed in heavily, shuddering under the touch. Hyuck pulled back, unsure, like he’d been burned.

“What was that?” Mark asked, eyes still closed. Barely restrained. Like he could punch Hyuck at any time.

“You had, um, chocolate,” and then he noticed a similar smudge on the other side of his lip. Mark was a really messy eater, apparently.

Fuck it. Fuck everything. If he was losing Mark, he was doing it with a bang. He was sick of sitting by, passively, letting himself stew in his own mind. Slowly, giving Mark time to stop him, he wiped the chocolate again.

His hand was still cupping his face when Mark started yelling, “You can’t just start a serious conversation and then distract me!”

“I can’t?” Hyuck started running his hand up through Mark’s hair, bringing the other one up to his shoulder, trailing up and down the fabric and to the exposed skin of his neck. “Then what am I doing right now, huh?”

It was ridiculously childish. Mark rushed forward and kissed him. Hyuck’s grip on his hair tightened in surprise, drawing a small gasp from Mark and bringing him closer, pressing their bodies together. Going on his tiptoes, he used the leverage for more pressure, still tasting like chocolate and caramel from the ice cream. Everything was Mark. The soft material of his sweater, the way his hair slid between his fingers, the soft noises he made every time Hyuck did something creative with his teeth… All of it.

They pulled apart, resting their foreheads together for a moment with the intensity of it all. 

“It was you, Hyuck.” Mark was still out of breath.

“What?” Hyuck said, head still spinning from the kiss. It felt like reality was pressing in all around him, ready to collapse at any minute.

“H stands for Hyuck. I didn’t tell you because it was about you.” Mark kissed him again, short and sweet, but pulled back when Hyuck didn’t move his lips. “They all knew it was you after a while, and promised not to tell you, because I thought it was hopeless.”

“How could I not fall for you, dumbass?” Hyuck said way too fondly for his liking, and then enveloped Mark’s lips with his own again.

When they broke apart, Mark stared at him defiantly, kiss-bruised lips forming words it took Hyuck a second to process, “If I’m the dumbass, how did you hear people describe you for a month and not catch on?”

“You’re the one that talked about me like that!”

Mark kissed him again to shut him up. Hyuck could really, really get used to that.

**Author's Note:**

> hope u enjoyed!! i almost died writing this and its way longer than intended so! yep


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